Improving Grammar Resources

[Norm + Kim]

Very helpful. I used to think I was pretty good with grammar and spelling until I took a course on business writing. Wow, was I ever wrong. I think I forgot more than I actually learned. Now I take the time to really proofread my work for errors.

[amybo82]

Reading can definitely help you improve many things, but I think it's important to point out that you also need to read high quality material. There are many books I've read (both self-published and professionally published) that have had mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics. I love Grammar Girl! I refer to her often, especially for those nit-picky things that I can never seem to remember like when to use "who" or "whom". I also highly recommend The Elements of Style by Strunk and White and Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss.

[beckyleeh]

I love to read blogs about writing. Find a few and study the way they write. Men with Pens is a favorite of mine. And of course, some of the "classic" grammar books like Elements of Style and On Writing Well will help you a bunch. Someone once told me that to be a good writer you should read Elements of Style every year.

[moderntimes]

I think that Elements of Style is very overrated and very much behind the times for modern fiction. It's okay for nonfiction and formal writing, but for modern fiction, many of the tenets in that guide are outdated.

[literarycat]

Since joining this website I have come to realize that my grammar skills need serious work. I have not been able to find helpful resources through the forums. With that in mind I decided to share what I have found.

Grammar Girl's: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty is good for a refresher. Fogarty is also famous for running a podcast and has a website with free articles. If you need something with a bit more explanation I recommend looking to a different resource.

Woe is I: The Grammarphone's Guide to Better English in Plain English (3rd edition) by Patricia T. O'Conner is a wonderful resource and does one of the most impossible things. Makes grammar accessible. O'Conner explains very clearly why the rules are important and how to implement them in your writing. She also has a website that is a great resource.

Nitty-Gritty Grammar: A Not-So-Serious Guide to Clear Communication by Edith H. Fine and Judith P. Josephson is based on a workshop given to college students in need of a "grammar review class." The book goes right into the meaning of words as they relate to a sentence. The book was published in 1998 and I obtained it from my library. I am not sure if the book is still in print but it is a great resource and the addition of grammar cartoons make this book a pleasant experience.

What do you use as a grammar resource?

I've been trying to find a good resource for grammar. Since I started reviews I've learned apparently my grammar atrocious. I can find errors in someone else's work, but not my own. I've tried spell/grammar check in word and that sure as heck didn't help. I might need to take a few classes.

[bluemel4]

Since joining this website I have come to realize that my grammar skills need serious work. I have not been able to find helpful resources through the forums. With that in mind I decided to share what I have found.

Grammar Girl's: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty is good for a refresher. Fogarty is also famous for running a podcast and has a website with free articles. If you need something with a bit more explanation I recommend looking to a different resource.

Woe is I: The Grammarphone's Guide to Better English in Plain English (3rd edition) by Patricia T. O'Conner is a wonderful resource and does one of the most impossible things. Makes grammar accessible. O'Conner explains very clearly why the rules are important and how to implement them in your writing. She also has a website that is a great resource.

Nitty-Gritty Grammar: A Not-So-Serious Guide to Clear Communication by Edith H. Fine and Judith P. Josephson is based on a workshop given to college students in need of a "grammar review class." The book goes right into the meaning of words as they relate to a sentence. The book was published in 1998 and I obtained it from my library. I am not sure if the book is still in print but it is a great resource and the addition of grammar cartoons make this book a pleasant experience.

What do you use as a grammar resource?

I've been trying to find a good resource for grammar. Since I started reviews I've learned apparently my grammar atrocious. I can find errors in someone else's work, but not my own. I've tried spell/grammar check in word and that sure as heck didn't help. I might need to take a few classes.

I thought the same thing. Then I went to my friendly local library and the librarian showed me a lot of books about grammar and pointed out her favorite. I find I use Grammar Girl and Woe is I regularly. Both of these books are easy to read and understand grammar basics. I highly recommend them before looking for an expensive class.

[moderntimes]

At the library or a used bookstore, look for "Perrin's Writer's Guide and Index to English". Porter Perrin wrote this book many years ago and it's a great help, far more comprehensive and more reasoned than the Strunk & White.

I find myself that reading a lot of other writers' fiction also helps cement my knowledge of grammar.

[Aetraves]

moderntimes,
Thank you for your in site on this topic. I myself have very little writing experience, and I want to start reviewing science non-fiction works. I found the information and wisdom you shared helped my confidence greatly. I know I have work to do with my grammar, but I do not think I am as bad as I thought I was before reading what you had to day.

[moderntimes]

Glad to help. Everyone starts with a clean slate and not knowing how to write. Then we learn. Best way is to read a lot of good books and not only enjoy them but remember how the author used the grammar and other aspects of the language to present the story or theme or whatever. Then write something, and try to see how it compares, and tweak it until it's better. Then write some more. Repeat as needed.

Good writing is a skill that is honed, just like any skill. You start with some innate talent and then develop that talent. There are no real secrets. You just have to read a lot and then write a lot, and slowly get better at your writing.

Reviewing science books is very tricky, because any reviewer in that category must bring a lot to the table -- the reviewer should obviously be fairly well versed in science, either via formal schooling or just individual study, or both. If you have academic credentials it will help.

Incidentally, my degree is in chemistry with minors in math and biology, and then being a glutton for punishment, I took a 2nd major in English lit. So I've got both a scientific and literary educational background. Nevertheless I could no more review a chemistry book these days because most chem is molecular and I'm vapid on that topic, having out of the "biz" for years. I might essay to review a high-school level textbook, but that's about it.

My recommendation is to keep plugging away -- just keep slugging and improving your writing skills. And the best way to do that is to read a lot, then write a lot afterward. There are no real secrets.

[agapepeople]

This is just my small contribution to this thread. I recently discovered Grammarly .com which is a Chrome extension download to your browser that checks your grammar for you. Free of course. It's amazing how easy it is to make typos or not notice that a word is missing in your sentence. Scares me sometimes when I go back to read some of my old material and with a fresh pair of eyes, I pick up all those mistakes- highly embarrassing!

Just thought this might be a useful resource for some.

[moderntimes]

agape, I just finished re-editing my 1st novel prior to galley proof setup and publication. I found lot of small items to change, as it had been about 5 years since I finished the book and my writing's improved following.

I tweaked the text here and there and helped the rhythm of the book to a good degree, I think. My editor says most of the changes were minor and that's true, but they were slight improvements.

As for any sort of external oversight software? I dunno. I think the best spelling and grammar check is still between the ears. We learn to write mostly by first reading others' good writing and then ourselves, by writing and writing and writing.

Johan, agreed about Hemingway and Faulkner. Two masters of modern English. And since my novels are modern American private detective stories, their writing serves as an excellent goal for me. Were I writing more of a flowery 19th century (or early 20th century) style I'd do differently.

[WilsoRoy]

I agree with your opinion.

[DanAmerson]

An unconventional book on the topic is called 'The Trivium' by Sister Miriam Joseph.

The first 5 chapters are quintessential to general grammar (symbols that predicate reality in any language), but then it works towards logically congruent propositions (a little bit less related to writing). Last, you have rhetoric, which is the method of create a composition that is coherent, unified, and convincing.

Worth looking into. I've read it twice, and it's changed my thinking forever.

[sarahpayne23]

Have you ever thought about having your books edited by an experienced editor?

[moderntimes]

For me, it comes with the contract. Last year I signed with a small non-vanity publisher who is publishing my 3 private eye novels, and as a normal course of the process, their editing staff reviews my book prior to publishing.

I submit the final text in MS-Word with "track changes" on (and anyone who may be selling an article or novel or story, you really need to learn the basics of that feature in Word) and then the editing staff reviews it, makes recommended changes, sends the file back to me where I either accept the suggested changes or mark "stet" and it goes as written. Except for legal issue and obvious grammatical errors, the author is the final arbiter of what gets published.